Bon Secours may seek St. Francis Hospital's home care division

POUGHKEEPSIE — Bon Secours Charity Health Systems is interested in buying up St. Francis Hospital's home care division as it moves to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

James Nani

POUGHKEEPSIE — Bon Secours Charity Health Systems is interested in buying up St. Francis Hospital's home care division as it moves to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

On Jan. 9, a day before the deadline to express interest in bidding on St. Francis' assets, Good Samaritan Hospital of Suffern, whose parent company is Bon Secours, filed federal court papers saying it's interested in buying the home care division.

Bon Secours hasn't attached a dollar figure to its bid yet.

St. Francis Home Care Services Corporation, a nonprofit, provides nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy to patients in their homes. In 2012, it provided 38,000 home care visits, according to court filings.

Bon Secours Charity Health Systems also is the parent company of Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick and has satellite offices in Harriman and Milford, Pa.

Health Quest, the parent of Poughkeepsie's Vassar Brothers Medical Center, has offered up a stalking-horse bid of $40 million to buy up most of St. Francis Hospital's assets, according to court filings.

St. Francis, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, filed for bankruptcy Dec. 17, 2013 after having an operating loss of $7.7 million in 2012.

Also interested in St. Francis' home health division is Catholic Health Care System, parent company of ArchCare. ArchCare has said it's willing to partner with other buyers that aren't trying to buy the home health care division.

Westchester Medical Center also has expressed interest in buying up St. Francis assets.

All the those interested have until Feb. 10 to make final bids. The auction for the assets is scheduled for Feb. 13.